


A Second Chance

by earlgreyteawrites



Category: Adashi - Fandom, Shadam - Fandom, Voltron - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Shadam, adashi, adashi fic, adashi fluff, shadam fic, shadam fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 11:24:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16872052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgreyteawrites/pseuds/earlgreyteawrites
Summary: Rewrite of season 7 with Adaaammmm





	A Second Chance

 

    Shiro held his face in his hands, they shook madly as he desperately tried to control himself. Keith sat up in his hospital bed, wrapping his arms around his brother in the attempt to soothe him, hopefully even coax him to cry a little; Shiro seriously needed a good cry. He’d been so overwhelmed recently.

    As the war came to an end and peace was reintroduced to earth, Shiro began to realize what he had lost. Emotion poured in at moments that he didn’t expect it. Cooking breakfast this morning he’d remembered that there was an empty space besides him. Talking in a meeting this afternoon he’d noticed that someone wasn’t filling that one chair close to his own. And now, visiting Keith, he remembered there wasn’t another person checking to see if he was okay. No brown skinned hazel eyed man moving to give him a kiss or holding his hand. No soft hair to touch, no gentle words to be spoken to remind him that yes, it would all be okay. Shiro felt like everything he once had was gone.

    Shiro had always needed to be a leader. He needed to do something great. Not even his previous illness would have prevented that. But when he’d gotten captured, when he’d led Voltron, died, came back and saved earth, piloted the atlas…that need had finally been quenched. He was satisfied now, he felt a fulfillment that he had never had before. He’d felt as though he’d done something that would affect the world, which it had. Shiro got to be the hero that he’d always wanted to be and he could still do it on a daily basis if he wanted.

    But there was one thing he had forgotten, and it was love.

    Love was what Shiro had needed the most, but he had been so distracted, so caught up in his fantasy that he didn’t realize that…he could’ve been a hero without all that. He could’ve been a hero to Adam. He didn’t need all of that to prove it. Adam would have given him cosmos more than the fulfillment he had now. And yet, Shiro was only realizing this now, when it was too late…far too late.

    “Kashi.” Keith mumbled, something he hadn’t called Shiro since he was ten. “…I miss him.” Shiro looked to the side, tears building rapidly in his eyes. Keith was already crying, sniffling softly into his shoulder. Unimaginable pain welled in Shiro, it hurt like nothing he’d ever felt before. There was a twist in is gut and a knot in his throat that wouldn’t go away. And it reminded him that he was never going to see Adam again. The love of his life was gone.

    Shiro let out a sob. One, three then eight tears fell down his cheeks. He clung to Keith, desperate for something, anything close to Adam. Memories that used to be happy turned incredibly painful. Settling down in their bed to go to sleep, tender kisses in the park, the day Adam and him took Keith to his first amusement park. All of it hit him in waves, over and over and over again. Emptiness built inside of his chest as he pressed himself into Keith’s chest.

    He felt pathetic, but at the same time he didn’t. He had lost someone so close to him, someone he could never get back. His brother, his child was comforting him when Shiro needed to comfort him as well. Both of them were crying, both of them needed help. Something, anything.

    Shiro didn’t expect the door to open.

    Krolia walked inside. She was quiet, staring at her son and Shiro. Her gaze was filled with sadness as she watched the two. Shiro desperately tried to calm himself, wanting to maintain his professional atmosphere around her; it crumbled.

    Krolia crawled into the bed next to them. She looked almost human in the dark of the hospital room. Her arms slowly wrapped around Shiro, taking him from Keith and instead nestling him against her own chest, soothing him as though he were an infant. Keith leaned against his mother, crying softly against her shoulder as she held Shiro. It was the weirdest thing Shiro had experienced, but oddly the most comforting.

    “I lost my husband to this war.” she mumbled, voice calm and quiet. “I would never wish that feeling upon anyone else.” her hands ran up and down Shiro’s back, her voice sounded like a lullaby in his ears. She kissed his forehead as though Shiro were her own son. It must’ve been an odd sight, a giant, buff paladin nestled against the chest of a slim, intelligent warrior, crying.

    Shiro gasped in breaths, his lips shaking as he tried to breathe in. He whimpered, clutching the woman closer to him. She knew. She knew the pain of losing someone you fell in love with. Not only that, but she knew the pain of leaving a child, just as Shiro had done. She understood that sinking feeling, the incredible pain of doing simple daily tasks without them, that emptiness that constantly lingered besides him. She had felt it all…and she knew.

    “Takashi, look at me.” Krolia said softly, coaxing him to lift his head. Shiro did as requested sobbing softly, “…You don’t need to feel that pain. Shiro…Adam isn’t gone.” for a moment, Shiro thought she was going to say something like Adam was in his heart. And yes, although cheezy it was comforting, but she did the opposite of what Shiro expected. “Wipe your tears, Iverson is waiting outside for you.”

    “What?” Shiro blubbered.

    “He has good news.”

    Shiro quietly wiped his eyes. He couldn’t process what Krolia had said, still overwhelmed by incredible amounts of emotion, but he did what she requested of him. Keith smoothed down Shiro’s shirt and helped fix his hair before leaning against his mother quietly. Shiro did his best to make himself presentable despite the red rims under his eyes, but that wasn’t something he could fix. He took a deep breath, making sure his voice was steady before he opened the door.

    Iverson nodded a smile on his face. Shiro tried not to look confused or upset as he walked up to him, gently closing the door behind him.

    “How are you doing?” Iverson asked. His voice wasn’t as gruff as usual, a happy tone ignited in it. That was honestly the last thing Shiro wanted to hear (although he was glad Iverson was in a good mood, he’d been quiet since his father died).

    “I could be better.” Shiro replied honestly, hoping that the dimmed hospital lights hadn’t made it obvious he had just been sobbing his eyes out moments earlier.

    “We all could these days.” he said calmly, placing a surprisingly gentle hand on Shiro’s shoulder. “Walk with me cadet.” Shiro did as he was told, walking besides Iverson. His stripes and medals gleamed occasionally when the moonlight passed by them. It was funny now to think he was intimidated by this guy at once point. He and Adam would always…never mind.

    Thank god Iverson spoke then or else Shiro would’ve lost it again.

    “There has been a bit of a mix-up in the information we gave you a while back.” Iverson’s tone lowered, a guilty feeling replacing the previously happy one. “I personally want to apologize for the pain it must’ve caused you. We had no idea that this would happen.”

    “No idea that what would happen?” Shiro asked, suddenly both curious and a little terrified. Iverson stopped at the end of the hallway, looking Shiro dead in the eyes. It was clear he felt awful about something, but it was also a strange happiness Shiro couldn’t understand. Those emotions just didn’t go together so well, but he supposed Iverson had always been hard to read.

    Iverson sighed deeply, “Well…it’s a long story. But it needs to be told.” he mumbled, “Adam, during some of the first attacks he went out there. He was one of our best pilots, we didn’t want him risking his life but he wouldn’t listen to us.” Shiro’s heart gave a painful clench. He couldn’t understand why the conversation had suddenly shifted to this. It was so confusing and Shiro seriously needed time to think about something other than Adam. “He got shot down minutes after leaving the base.”

    “Iverson, I can’t-” Shiro tried to protest, but Iverson simply tightened his grip on Shiro’s shoulder.

    “We found his ship Takashi. He was barely alive, but we found it.” Shiro couldn’t breathe. “For the past year he’s been in and out of consciousness and has had several surgeries. When you came back he had died. His heart stopped beating. That’s all the information I got before we finished the war with the galra. We wanted to spare you the grief of knowing he’d been like that for over a year, but…unbenounced to me, a doctor managed to bring him back.

    He’s been stable after that, it’s like a miracle. His brain isn’t damaged, his personality hasn’t changed. And I’m not sure how, but I think Allura’s altean technology has been apart of it. He’s even been talking perfectly and walked a little bit for the past few days.” Iverson was grinning by this point, “…He’s been informed about the war and the victory, but we’ve left you out so you can fill in those parts if you like. We’ve made sure to keep it a surprise that you’re coming.”

    Iverson fell quiet. He looked so incredibly happy and it wasn’t even for him. All this time, he’d been trying to tell Shiro the love of his life was alive and well (for the most part). This wasn’t something Shiro could easily forget about the man.

    Tears slipped out of Shiro’s eyes. He sat there, totally frozen. He could hardly believe what Iverson had said until the man stepped forwards, gently running a hand up and down his back.

    “Well, what are you waiting for cadet?” he asked, gently pushing Shiro just the slightest bit forwards. Shiro was at a loss for words. Should he thank him Iverson? Hug him? Cry? But Iverson simply pushed him closer to the door. “Go ahead.” Shiro gave Iverson one last look.

    “Thank you.” he barely managed, reaching a shaky hand towards the door handle. It was cold and icy, just like everything in the hospital seemed to be. He turned it slowly, barely able to do it correctly with his incredibly shaky fingers. But eventually he managed to turn it and push it open quietly.

    A heart monitor beeped. The room was emerged in darkness apart from a reading light in the corner. It smelled like disinfectant, but it was mixed with the smell of chocolates and goodies that were sitting on a little table. The air was colder than most room, which made Shiro shiver. He peeked to the side.

    Shiro couldn’t breathe.

    Adam.

    He sat, curled up in the hospital bed with a book, just like he always used to. His hair was a little bit greasy, probably from lack of showering, but it still looked soft a fluffy. A small white streak ran up to his scalp through it, which was new. It matched the new scar that covered most of Adam’s left cheek and neck, crawling around his eye. The mark was oddly beautiful and unlike anything Shiro had seen before.

    Adam flipped the page, unaware of what was happening until the door creaked. Shiro flinched as Adam paused, looking to the side.

    The book dropped into his lap.

    Adam breathed out shakily. His lips trembled along with the rest of his body. The heart monitor’s pace quickened. Beep, beep, beep, beep! Tears bubbled up in his eyes, sticking at the corners.

    “Shiro?” Adam sobbed. Shiro couldn’t help it any longer. He ran to the man’s side, sobbing.

    Needless to say, they were both messes. Incredible messes. And they were both okay with that. They hugged and cried into each other’s shoulders pressing closer and closer. Tears dripped out of their eyes and mucus dribbled out of their noses. Every gross aspect was forgotten, completely thrown aside. Neither of them could bring themselves to care.

    Memories poured into Shiro’s head, the broken engagement, their fight the night before he left, the moment when he turned his head back as he boarded the spaceship to see Adam sobbing, begging him not to go. He was going to make up for all of it. Every last second of time they missed together, everything he’d ever done to hurt Adam. Everything. Every holiday, every birthday, every single precious moment that he had left Adam alone and afraid that Shiro was either going to die or was already dead. He was going to make it up.

    They finally calmed down, but tears continued to roll down their cheeks. Adam stayed pressed against Shiro’s chest, his reading glasses all fogged up. He sniffled, blowing his nose with a couple tissues Shiro held for him. Shiro wiped his nose tenderly before taking another tissue and drying Adam’s eyes.

    “I thought…” Adam choked, “I thought you were dead for so long.” he hiccupped. “Is this real, are you really here?” Shiro nodded,

    “Yes. It’s hard for me to believe too.” Shiro blubbered, uncontrollable happiness wiping away all of his grief. “…I’m so sorry. I left you alone. I was selfish and stupid. You were just looking out for me, I, I should’ve listened to you Adam-”

    “No…don’t apologize. It’s okay Shiro. I just…I want…” he pressed himself close to Shiro. He half cried half laughed. “You’re hair is white.” he blubbered. Shiro let out a stupid giggle, tears streaking down his cheeks.

    “Yeah…long story.”

    “Tell me all of it.” Adam asked.

    Shiro gladly obliged.

    The beginning was sad, disturbing even. He told Adam about the arena and how he escaped. He told him how he came to earth and met the paladins. He told him about Voltron and when he died, a clone replacing him. He explained how he’d lived inside of the Black lion and how Allura transferred his consciousness to the clone. The journey to earth, the Atlas…everything he could think of he mentioned. And when he was finished, there was quiet. But it wasn’t a bad quiet. It was bittersweet, sadness and happiness tingling around the edges of all of the information. It was so much to take in, so much to realize. Shiro knew it probably drove Adam crazy to realize his ex-fiancé now had PTSD and had truly died already. But Shiro supposed that was true for the both of them now.

    Adam looked up at Shiro, tears in his eyes.

    “My half now.” he mumbled.

    He explained everything. When he’d seen on television that the mission had failed due to pilot error. How he’d gone to Keith’s shack and cried for hours and hours with him. The regret and how it led to depression and how depression had led to therapy where he spent hours of his day trying to get it all out. The despair when Keith had left and completely disappeared along with Shiro. The loneliness. Then the galra coming to earth, destroying his home. How he went against commands and flew his ship. His time in the hospital, how much pain he’d been in, how he’d felt his death and came back to life. And finally, it was all over.

    “I want to see Keith in the morning.” Adam mumbled, “I know he has his mom now, but-”

    “You know we’re still his dads though.” Shiro muttered in reply. An odd silence fell between them once again. But it wasn’t like the pause after Shiro’s story or the pause after Adam’s. It was a different silence, one that replicated the one following the beginning of their relationship. The ‘what are we?’ silence.

    It lingered as they held each other, cuddled in Adam’s bed. It had all been so much. So, so much. Shiro wasn’t even sure if he could emotionally handle talking about it, but…it was also something that needed to be addressed.

    “…Adam, I…I never got to talk to you about our engagement or the mission or-”

    “I didn’t mean any of that.” Adam said quickly. “…I was scared and hurt and…just a total mess. Your disease caught me off guard, I thought by leaving for the mission you were saying that you valued it over my feelings. I was being selfish, I wasn’t thinking about you-”

    “But _I_ was the one not thinking about you.” Shiro felt guilt seep into his voice, “It took me forever to realize it, but without Voltron and without saving the world…I could get fulfillment by just being with you. I…I always was looking in the wrong direction. I don’t know why I was like that.” Shiro stopped for a moment, guilt filling him. He took a deep breath. He needed to say it.

    “I’m sorry Adam. I can’t make up for what I put you through, but…I’m sorry. I want to prove it to you. I want to make up for everything that we lost while I was gone.” Adam gazed up at Shiro, his eyes sparkled. Shiro must’ve been crazy if he thought they were done crying. They were both still crazy from all of the mixed emotions. He couldn’t decide whether to cry or laugh or scream at the world, but Adam seemed to feel the same. Oddly enough that made him feel a lot better.

    “…I never stopped loving you.” Adam suddenly mumbled, “I never…I never should’ve broke our engagement. I was just so scared and hurt when you decided to leave. And with your disease I really thought that you might actually die out there…” he barely managed to squeeze it out, “…and I guess you really did, but as crazy enough as that is it somehow ended up extending your life.” there was another short pause as Adam gained back his breath, “I wanted to spend my life with you. I…I still do. Things might be different, but it’s…it’s a good different. Everything…it’s all over now. We can…we can finally…b-but only if you want to-”

    Shiro cut him off.

    A very much waited for, very much needed kiss was pressed on Adam’s lips. It was tender, so soft and gentle that silk would be envious. Shiro gently tangled his fingers through his lovers hair, kissing him softly. He moved his lips carefully against Adam’s. They were salty with all of the tears they had shed together, but that was the least of Shiro’s worries. He had waited five years for this kiss. Five whole nightmarish years.

    “Shiro.” Adam murmured through this kiss. Shiro broke away just long enough for Adam to ask, “Do you love me?” Shiro almost started crying again, replying,

    “Yes.” and ducking back in. Adam didn’t hesitate, staying close to him as they kissed. It was the longest, most loving one they’d ever had. Full of regret and passion and sorrow and happiness. So many emotions flooded them that it hurt to try and put them all together. But somehow, it seemed okay to feel that way now. Everything felt okay now.

* * *

 

    **Years Later…**

 

    Shiro sighed out the smell of cookies, peeking his head into the kitchen. Hunk was exclaiming at the sight of perfect chocolate chip cookies, setting down the tray on the counter. Adam was buttering up some baklava, some of Shiro’s favorite. He snuck up behind him as he began spreading out pistachios and walnuts over the paper thin dough. He wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist, smushing a gentle kiss against the scar that ran up his neck. Adam almost dropped the bowl of melted butter in his hands, giggling.

    “Shiro!” Shiro blew a raspberry into Adam’s neck, making him giggle and squirm. The other paladins watched, amused smiles on their faces. “Shiro, you’re embarrassing me in front of them.” he mumbled through his giggles. Shiro rolled his eyes, placing a gentle kiss right below Adam’s eye before letting go, enjoying the sight of his flustered husband.

    Just a couple months ago they had finally married. A year before that they’d dated for a while, getting used to things. Shiro’s PTSD had made things a little bit different, but Adam’s anxiety stayed relatively the same. They went through the ups and downs, lefts and rights, carefully navigating and remembering how to be in a relationship again. There were things that were different and things that remained the same, but each one was just a reminder of how much they loved each other and how much they valued the other’s company.

    And through all of that, Shiro introduced the team, who immediately adopted Adam in right away as if he’s always been there, explaining inside jokes and laughing about the simplest of things. It was like the world’s greatest family reunion when they all came to visit. He felt free, like he had finally gained back everything he needed. Shiro had the love his of life back, alive and well.

    There was nothing more that he could’ve asked for.

    “Shiro, help me with this, will you?” Adam asked softly. Shiro gladly tailed after him, beginning to help. After all, there was nothing he’d rather do.


End file.
